All posts for the day July 24th, 2014

Woke up to a lightening storm. Quickly googled whether it is safe to bike in this type of weather. The internet basically mocked me for asking such a dumb question, riding a steel bike with small thin rubber tires. So I waited a little while and the lightening passed but not the rain. I biked the 112 miles, mostly in the rain. The wind was at my back, so really the rain wasn’t a problem except I got wet and was a little cold. I decided not to stop for lunch because I was concerned I would tighten up, so I just pushed my way to Cleveland.
Along the way I took some more pictures of the homes with their ponds out front that I referred to yesterday. I also stopped to eat my morning snack at a gas station under the sign seen below. I couldn’t resist.

Once in Cleveland I decided to have my biked tuned because it hadn’t been gone over since Rapid City, 1,000 miles back. I dumped my gear off at my friend Jane’s home and then biked a mile to the local bike store. I wanted to get back to the house quickly so I could get out of my wet clothes and take a long hot shower. There was a women in the bike store interested in my adventure so I figured she would be open to driving me back to Jane’s. She was heading that direction and immediately accepted my request for a ride. HOWEVER, we didn’t get going immediately. She was having her biked fixed for the Point to Point two day 150 mile ride this weekend, and the bike shop was having some difficulty with her derailer. Then once that was done, she wanted to try new seats and every possible height adjustment just to make it perfect. It took 45 minutes. I could have walked back quicker! But she was very nice and I was happy not to walk.

Got back to the house and showered. Finished just in time for Jane to get home, pick me up and take me to Cleveland Museum of Art, where she works. More on that tomorrow.

Went to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I am not a big music buff. I came into my marriage owning 3 albums, one of which was Israeli Polka songs (really). Yet I found the museum fascinating. Spent 3 hours there. Then walked around Cleveland and University Circle.

And since Larry B did not believe I had lunch with Lebron, I have included a selfie of me and him in front of the arena. He is tall so the cropping might not be perfect!

Tomorrow I start my final push through PA. People say the Allegheny Mtns are terrible. Worse than the Rockies because of how steep the roads are. We shall see!

Last night my high school friend, Jane, gave me a tour of what she designed at the Cleveland Museum of Art. For background, Jane had to drop out of Tulane University for financial reasons. A year later she got a job at MIT and started taking classes there. Then she transferred to a new job at Columbia where she took more classes and then graduated from there with a degree in Applied Math and Architecture. She then had various jobs in different data and computer management roles. But her passion has always been art. She was offered an incredible opportunity a few years ago to head up the technology side of the Cleveland Museum of Art. They had a blank chalk board and let Jane redesign how people can experience art within the museum. BTW, the Cleveland Museum of Art is a huge institution with incredible collections. Jane, as Chief Information Officer created Gallery One. I can’t even begin to explain all the interactivity that Gallery One intertwined throughout the museum. All I have to say is that all the top museums are either flying in to see her program, or they are flying Jane around the world to speak to them.
Follow your passion!